50 Stats for Saturday: Navy

Stats for Saturday is back with its third installment. This week, I looked at the successes and failures of the game vs. Virginia and delved into some scouting stats for Navy.

Warning: Some of them are painful.

Enjoy.

1. Penn State faced nine 3rd/4th and short situations on Saturday.
2. Bill O’Brien elected to run on six of those occasions (3:2 run:pass).
3. Conversely, Matt McGloin dropped back to pass on 86% of the 3rd/4th and short occasions last week.
4. Penn State was 3-4 on 4th down vs. Virginia.
5. All three of those 4th down conversions resulted from called rushing plays.
6. Penn State’s offense was much more balanced vs. Virginia.
7. The Nittany Lions ran the ball of 47% of their snaps.
8. That’s up 16% from the game against Ohio.
9. *IF* Bill Belton and Derek Day are unable to go this weekend, a tailback with zero career starts will open the game for the third straight week.
10. On Saturday, the average Penn State drive began at their own 43.
11. In the 2nd half, the typical PSU drive started two yards shy of midfield.
12. Penn State entered Virginia territory on 10 of 12 drives.
13. The Nittany Lions had five red zone opportunities.
14. They only came away with 10 points.
15. Once Penn State reached the red zone, they gained 18 yards on 12 plays.
16. McGloin’s only red zone completion was a TD to Kyle Carter on the opening drive. (h/t @psubst)
17. Penn State’s defense forced four turnovers last week.
18. Those four drives began on the Virginia 37, 19, 29, and 17.
19. Penn State only scored three points off of those turnovers.
20. Virginia converted 7 of 9 third downs in the 2nd half.
21. Penn State opponents are now 18-21 on 2nd half 3rd downs. (h/t Lions247)
22. Allen Robinson leads the Big Ten in receptions.
23. He also leads the league in receiving yards.
24. Allen Robinson was targeted 20 times vs. Virginia.
25. He’s currently on track to catch 114 balls this season.
26. Remember that 3rd and 16 with 4:59 remaining in the 4th?27. Yea, that one where Jake Fagnano was 5 yards behind the play.

28. I’m going to assume that’s not where he was supposed to be.
29. Penn State is averaging less than 11 minutes of possession in the 2nd half.
30. After two games, Michael Mauti leads the team in tackles with 21.
31. Redshirt Freshman Deion Barnes leads the team in sacks with 2.
32. Penn State has scored 9 points in the 2nd half thus far.
33. Through two games, the defense has allowed 35 points after halftime.
34. Penn State owns a 18-17-2 series advantage over Navy.
35. The Midshipmen defeated the Nittany Lions during their last meeting in 1974 by a score of 7-6.
36. Against Notre Dame, Navy allowed 293 yards on the ground.
37. Typically, Navy runs the ball over 65% of the time.
38. Even though they were blown out 50-10, they still managed to accumulate 26 minutes of possession.
39. Last season, Navy totaled just 1,029 passing yards.
40. Navy also accrued 3,747 rushing yards last year.
41. That was good for 5th best in the nation in 2011.
42. Navy’s leading receiver had just 14 receptions last season.
43. Brent Smith, a freshman defensive end for Penn State, served two tours in Iraq.
44. There will be a military flyover on Saturday at approximately 3:23 pm.
45. On Saturday, there were more Sam Ficken missed field goals than Alex Butterworth punts.
46. The attendance for the game vs. Ohio was a paltry 97,186.
47. That’s the third smallest crowd in modern Beaver Stadium history.
48. Navy comes into this game as a 7-point underdog.
49. I hate to do this but…
50. here’s your Sam Ficken FG spray chart:

More Options to Share

About the Author

Ryan is a senior in the Smeal College of Business majoring in Marketing. He is a Lion Ambassador who loves giving tours to prospective students. His favorite activities include distributing news and consuming Chipotle.

A week after 2012 Penn State graduate Kyle Chase Johnson tragically died while running the Pittsburgh half marathon, local muralist Michael Pilato painted his likeness on the Heister Street mural, a fitting tribute for a man who, by all accounts, was a quintessential Penn Stater.

Penn State’s Interfraternity Council wants to make a statement State Patty’s Day, claiming that none of its chapters registered for a social during Happy Valley’s unofficial drinking holiday this weekend. “We commend the maturity and leadership that they displayed with their collective decision,” IFC released on the absence of socials State Patty’s Day. “We fully […]